"Inside Llewyn Davis" stars Oscar Isaac as a folk singer in New York whose life is about to change.

MICHELLE: I'm not into folk music. I went to the movie because it was a Coen brothers production — and to see what it's like to watch a movie without an intermission at The Pageant. Nothing exploded in the film or at the theater. Just FYI.

ALLEN: I'm into folk music and am slightly obsessed with the Greenwich Village folk scene from the early '60s. In point-of-fact, this movie takes place just before the acts like Bob Dylan and Richie Havens changed everything. But like most Coen brothers' films, when they portray another place and time, they get it right.

MICHELLE: The Coen brothers are fun to watch. Just see "O Brother Where Art Thou" or "The Big Lebowski". They tend to make films you watch again and get more out of — like "The Hudsucker Proxy". Intelligent, watchable movies — that's what I expected. And that's what I got. But this was more subtle. I once reviewed a Harold Pinter play by saying that if I wanted to hear a lot of people talk about a lot of stuff they're never going to do, I could go to my local bar. This movie is a slice of life — as is typical, we see what's funny about our hero, and others seem to, but he never does. He doesn't have our perspective.

ALLEN: Isaac has the task of portraying a protagonist that's kind of a jerk. Llewyn is talented, but he doesn't connect with people. He has some compassionate instincts but never lets them get in the way of his ambition. What he doesn't see, and what the Coen brothers show you, is that he would actually be more successful if he would just follow those instincts. Instead he continuously makes the selfish choice.

There is an extensive sub-plot involving a cat. It's possible Llewyn is caring for the cat out of compassion, but more likely it has to do with the fact the cat belongs to a wealthy patron. When your well-being is dependent on others (Llewyn survives by sleeping on friends couches) it's a problem that you don't like people. That makes for an interesting character study.